


Rebellion

by LesbianKeys, loveshroom



Series: CyberPunk AU [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: ACAB, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Cyberpunk, Cyberpunk RWBY, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Blake Belladonna, Nonbinary Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, RWBY Cyberpunk, Read each chapter's notes for the warnings because I don't want to spoil, Slow Burn, Team as Family, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Weiss Schnee, Written by Trans people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23081821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LesbianKeys/pseuds/LesbianKeys, https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveshroom/pseuds/loveshroom
Summary: Weiss is the heiress to the Schnee Corp, and has lived under her father for all her life. However, when a confession goes terribly wrong, it sets off a train of events that leads her to running away, vowing to destroy everything her father has built.Blake grew up in the faunus community of Menagerie, and joined the White Fang to help defend her home from the encroaching megacorps, but when she grows sick of the methods of her splinter group, she leaves, searching for another cause to fight for.Yang is the de facto leader and armoursmith of the rebellion force Beacon, despite her age, but they're fighting a losing battle. That is, until a chance encounter leaves them with more information than they've ever had before.Ruby helps her sister run the rebellion, trying to ease her burden, and crafts the weapons for Beacon. As the stress starts to weigh more and more on Yang, Ruby becomes more and more desperate to increase Beacon's capabilities.The Megacorp's will come to regret the day they stood by and did nothing when these four met.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Pyrrha Nikos/Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc/Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren/Pyrrha Nikos, Neptune Vasilias/Sun Wukong, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos/Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, and Eventual - Relationship
Series: CyberPunk AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1622338
Comments: 19
Kudos: 80





	1. Whetting Stone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Transphobia, Misgendering, Technically Deadnaming, Eye injury, Parental Abuse, Isolation, Depression,
> 
> We were going to have Weiss tell Klein her chosen name/choose a name as the last line of the first chapter but it was too long so we had to split it up which is why we never use her name in the first chapter.
> 
> It's mostly angst right now but dw it gets better.

Across the long, empty table, the girl’s father watches as she toys with her food. A single meatball and a sprig of parsley sit on her plate, untouched. Jacques Schnee regards her with a quiet disdain for a moment longer, before he stands, and shoots her a glare. “When you deign fit to finish your dinner, retrieve your fencing gear and join me in the sallé . Do not keep me waiting.” With that, he retreats from the room, his footsteps carrying a weight- a substance, like waves, rolling through an ocean of silence. She doesn’t take a bite of her food until their echo has faded.

The meat is dry, and the parsley is disgusting. She’s always hated parsley, and the years have done little to dull that hatred. The years have always been a whetting stone, and she thinks that perhaps she has been sharpening her blade for several years too long. I’m going to tell him. I have to, or there won’t be any of me left to sharpen.

She stands, and places her fork and knife over the half eaten meal, before beginning the short walk to her room, where she keeps her fencing gear. Her room is large, but mostly empty- it doesn’t look lived in, no matter how much of her time she spends there. Grabbing her rapier, a gift from Winter, she dons her protective gear, and trudges from the room. Her fear and anticipation grow with each step, and her thoughts race at a thousand miles an hour. Each one attempts to convince her to wait just a little longer- but she had already made up her mind. When she makes a decision, she sticks to it.

She stands at the door to the sallé for a moment. She could turn back. She could disappoint her father, and say she was too tired, but she takes one step forward, and her fear begins to fade, replaced by a cold determination. Jacques already stands at the strip, helmet and sword at his side. From his expression, the girl knows that she had been too long. “Finally decided to join me, I see. I do hope sparring with your father is not too much of an inconvenience to you, ????????.” The girl winces, but her father is too busy with his own anger to notice.

Stepping onto the strip, she dons her helmet, and readies her stance. Jacques follows suit, and without a word, the match begins. Sparring always makes her feel better, despite its association with her father, because she doesn’t have to worry about her body. She doesn't have to worry about her responsibilities- she can become a tool. A tool doesn’t have to worry about things, it worries about its purpose, and her purpose on the strip is to spar- to fight. It made her almost feel alive.

Her father is relentless in his assault, but she is agile and quick. She parries and dodges his thrusts, but she never could break past his defenses. She is slowly pushed back, until her foot falls off the back of the strip, and the match is over.

“You’ve improved from last month, but you never take enough risks. You won’t be able to run the company if you are too scared to take them.” The girl takes off her fencing helmet, and her father lowers his rapier. She has to tell him- she is going to tell him.

“I need to tell you something, Father. I- I’m…” She was shaking- this is way harder than she thought, even with the adrenaline from the match.

“Spit it out boy.” her father snarls as she clutches her helmet to her side for support.

“I don’t want to be your heir- father. I’m a girl, and if anything at all, an heiress.” Her voice comes out defiant, strong, but that all vanishes when she notices her father's body language. She can’t see his face, but the gritting of his jaw and the scowl on his face were all too clear in her mind. His grip on the rapier shakes in fury, and her courage promptly fails her. “I- I mean-” her voice turns from a stutter to a shriek of pain, as her father brings his rapier over his head, and strikes her left eye with the blade. It hurts. It hurts a lot. She can’t- she can't see out of it- the blood flowing down and over her hand as she clutches it.

“You will be confined to your room until you realize the folly of thinking you are anything other than a boy. I am disappointed- to think my heir would be so… weak minded.” Jacques flicks his blade, shaking the blood off of it, and proceeds to put his equipment away as though nothing happened. She stumbles out of the room, crying tears of blood and of salt, and it isn’t long before the pain overwhelms her. She collapses to the ground of the hallway, unable to walk any further.

She doesn’t know how long she lays there- but she knows that the bleeding is slowing- she knows that she has run out of tears.

She soon falls into a stupor while lying there, thinking and looking at nothing in particular. That is, until Klein finds her. When he notices the girl, he rushes to her side, before falling to his knees in front of her.

“????????, what happened to you? We need to get you to the nurse!” He panics, and tries to lift her off the ground, but she’s dead weight, too tired to help, so he struggles with it.

“Don’t- don’t call me that Klein- please?” Her voice comes out as barely a whisper, but Klein’s face blanches.

“Did- did you tell him? Did he do this to you?” His voice is pained, and he pulls her in for a long hug, tears welling in his eyes. She nods into his shoulder, arms limp at her side. When Klein tries to stand, she finally finds the strength to stand with him, gripping his arms.

“Can you- can you take me to my room, Klein? Please?” He nods, and they trudge to her room, the girl leaning heavily on Klein.

The two of them make it to her room- and she collapses onto her bed, with Klein climbing onto it to look at her eye. Klein excuses himself, mentioning something about a washcloth- and the girl soon drifts off. She is much too tired from everything that had happened to stay awake.

* * *

When she finally wakes, Klein is kneeling over her with a rag, dabbing at the dried blood that cakes half her face. It hurts, and she grits her teeth. When Klein sees that she is awake and in pain, he immediately stops his cleaning. “Are you okay, my little Snowflake?” She smiles, and nods.

“It hurts a bit- but I can deal with it. I’ve dealt with worse.” Klein nods, a melancholic smile on his face, and goes back to cleaning the wound. She still can’t see anything out of the eye, but as Klein cleans the wound, his face grows ever more worried.

“Your- your eye… It’s…” Klein sets down the bloodied rag, and covers his mouth with his hands, a tear welling in his eyes.

“How bad is it- and don’t baby me- it’s my eye we are talking about here.” Klein nods, but his voice is strained.

“He- he cut it- not just the skin but- your eye it’s- it’s cut down the middle.” She doesn't know whether to laugh or cry at that- her father has always wanted to cultivate the image of a perfect family. One that ruled over the corporation with an iron fist, but a kind one. Not only does his ‘heir’ come out as trans, but he muddies that image on his own by cutting his own daughter’s eye! She hadn’t even meant to rebel- but she supposes that being herself is in itself a form of rebellion against him. “I- I’m going to go get a doctor, alright Snowflake? Someone needs to take a look at this.” She nods, and sits up, pressing the rag he hands her to her face.

She doesn’t realize that her mind has filled with static until the sound of the door opening wakes her from her stupor. Klein is carrying several pieces of medical equipment, and is followed by several people who look like doctors. As soon as Klein finishes setting the equipment down, he rushes over to the girl. “Are you alright? Do you feel any more pain? Do you need anything? Are you hungry? Thirsty?” All she could do was shake her head, and attempt a smile up at the only person in her life that had always been kind to her. “The doctors are going to take a look at your eye, but I’ll be here the whole time, alright?”

Klein takes her hand, and squeezes it tightly. She nods, and turns to the doctors, who have finished their preparation. The lead doctor flips on a flashlight, and approaches. “Can you close your uninjured eye please?” She complies, and he shines the light in her other eye. “Can you see anything?” She shakes her head, and he clicks off the flashlight. The doctor turns to Klein. “We can either take his damaged eye out in preparation for a replacement, or repair it, but the latter will still leave him with limited vision in the eye.” Klein opens his mouth to protest the doctor’s misgendering, but thinks better of it.

“Take it out.” She would rather lose an eye and wear an empty socket as a symbol of her father’s cruelty than let him repair his mistake. Klein is surprised by her response, but can tell by her tone that she has made up her mind..

“Alright, then please climb onto this table.” The doctor gestures to the makeshift operating theater that had been set up, and she complies. The doctors strap her to the table, and one sticks her with an IV drip. Soon, she drifts into unconsciousness from the anesthesia.

* * *

When she comes to, she doesn’t know where she is. It takes a while for her remaining eye to adjust, and for her to rub the crust from it, before she recognizes her bed. Klein is snoring at her bedside, leaning over the side of her bed, but as she pushes herself into a sitting position, the activity jostles him awake. He mumbles, and smiles at her. “How are you feeling, snowflake?”

She groans, and brings her hand up to her face, feeling the bandages that cover half her face. Her face felt empty, with a dull pain pulsing through the left half of it. “It hurts.” Klein frowns, and scoots closer to her, his hand finding hers, and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Mr. Schnee has informed me that he is… confining you to your room for the foreseeable future. But- I’ll be here for you- alright, my snowflake?” He smiles wistfully, and she tries to smile back, but the effort hurts. “I’m going to get you some food, alright? But I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She nods, and feels a tear welling in her eye.

“Why are you so good to me, Klein? I don’t deserve this.” His face falls as she says this, and he pulls her in for a careful hug.

“Of course you do- you deserve so much more than this, snowflake, I promise.” They stay like that for a while, and she takes comfort in Klein’s closeness, even when his own tears wet her shirt as hers wet his. Klein only lets go when her stomach lets out a loud growl, and he laughs at the girl’s embarrassed expression. “I’ll get you some food, alright?” She nods, and Klein leaves the room, sparing one final glance back, before letting the door slip shut.

Without anything left to do, it isn’t long before she drifts back into a light sleep.

* * *

When she wakes, the first thing she notices is the silence. When Klein was in her room, there’s always some sort of sound, his breathing, the shuffling of his feet- but none of that is present. The shuffling of the sheets as she sits up is soft, but takes up more space in the room than usual. Maybe it's because she had been asleep for a while, but she doesn’t care to speculate. The only sign that someone has recently been there is the cold bowl of gruel sitting on her bedside.

It takes a while for her to gather the strength to stand, and when she does, she almost crumples to the floor, but catches herself on the nightstand. When she finally catches her breath, she makes the journey to her bedroom door, only to find it locked. She shakes it, anger at her father welling in her heart- but calms herself with some of the breathing exercises she had learned to deal with living in this house, and throws herself back onto the bed.

She lays in a fugue for what seems like days- slipping in and out of sleep. There is no one for her to talk to, the servants that bring her food enter and immediately leave after setting it down, and she begins to wonder if something happened to Klein.

It is several days later, and she is getting very worried- what if father fired Klein? What if he had him disposed of? What if- The door swings open, revealing Klein. A smile springs to her face, but is promptly wiped off as the skin around her eye twinges from the movement. “Klein! You’re back!” She bounds off the bed, and wraps her arms around him in a big hug. He laughs, and closes the door behind him.

“I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long, my little snowflake. But I got you something!~” Her face betrays her confusion. She knows Klein doesn’t make many credits working for her father- why would he waste his money on her? When she lets go of Klein, he leads her over to the bed, and sits her down next to him. “First… Let’s get those bandages off of you- have they even been changing them? I swear.” He unwraps her bandages, exposing her scabbed face, her eyelid closed over the cavity. Klein frowns, before rooting around in his vest pocket for a moment, pulling out a small packet. He turns it over, revealing a transparent side, and the eye-sized, clear marble inside. “I got you a clear one because I didn’t know what you would want. The doctors told me that as soon as your eye had healed enough that we should put something in to preserve the shape of the cavity.” The girl is stunned.

Her father doesn’t care about her at all, but Klein went out and spent his own money to help her. She can’t understand it, but she is so very grateful. The girl wraps her arms around Klein, and buries her face in his shoulder. “Tha- thank you Klein…” He nods, and brings his hand to the back of her head.

“Of course, snowflake. Now, let’s get this in there.” He pulls the eye out of the wrapping, careful not to let it touch anything but the hands he had sterilized before. With his other hand, he pries open the girl’s eye. It hurts, but she does her best not to pull away. He pushes the ‘marble’ in, and with a pop!- it slips into her socket. Klein lets go of her face, and her eyelid closes back over the marble. The pain relents, and she sighs in relief. “There we go!”

Klein retrieves another wrapping from the nightstand, and begins to re-dress the wound. She stays as still as she can, but the salve he applied stings, so she flinches as he touches it to her face. “I don’t know- I don’t know what I would do without you Klein. Thank you…” He smiles, and ties the bandage at the back of her head.

“I heard your father saying that you weren’t allowed out of your room… so I got you something else, as well.” He pulls a small stick out of his pocket, and taps it, revealing it to be a scroll. “Your father can monitor the scroll you already have- so I got you a new one! Well, not new- I didn’t have many extra credits, so it’s used, but it isn’t blocked or anything, like your other one. You should be able to surf the net wherever you want. My scroll number is in there as well.” Her face betrays her shock. Growing up, she had only ever been allowed to watch shows or read books that her father had approved, but here Klein was, giving her access to the outside world she had been denied all her life.

To say that she is struck dumb would be an understatement. This is too much… she thinks, staring at the scroll in her hand. Klein just smiles at her, before standing from the bed. “Klein- you can’t keep giving me these things… what if you get caught? And you need the money, I know you do-”

“Snowflake, none of that is more important than you- You deserve so much more than you’ve had to deal with. Seeing you grow and learn and- and hurt- it’s more than I can bear without helping. But I have to go now, snowflake, I’ll try to visit as often as I can, alright?” She nods, still staring at the scroll, and Klein goes to leave, but turns, and looks at the girl- eyes full of love and adoration, before closing the door. And like that, she is alone again. She lays back onto her bed, and holds the scroll above her face. She taps the power button, and begins to explore its functionality.

It doesn’t have much on it, aside from a messaging and search function- but that doesn’t matter. She’s sure the net has tons of games and things to keep her busy. She still can’t believe Klein. He’s done so much for her even without this- she doesn’t- can’t understand why. It doesn’t take her long to download a mindless game from the net, complete with advertisements for Schnee products and all, and begin the futile endeavor of keeping herself busy.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is set in me and loveshroom's Cyberpunk RWBY Au, which can be found at this link! --> https://cyberpunkrwby.tumblr.com/
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	2. Jailbreak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss speaks a truth, recognizes a lie, and makes a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Drug mention, death mention, unsanitary technically, internalized transphobia

It’s been almost a month since she was first confined to her room, and she is bored. The past few days have been almost foggy, and she only knows how long she’s been in her room from the calendar on her scroll. Klein visits her sometimes, but his visits have become less frequent over the month- apparently her father is keeping him busy. Klein checks up on her through the scroll though, so she at least has someone to talk to, if only for a few minutes a day. But it isn’t enough. She doesn’t even want to touch her fencing equipment yet- it’s still too fresh in her mind- she can't bring herself to touch it.

And so the fugue persists, she turns and tosses in her bed, falling in and out of sleep. She can barely feel anything- but one thing shines through- anger. Anger towards her father, anger towards her situation, anger towards her mother for marrying him, anger towards her sister for leaving her. It's that anger that leads her to the search function of her scroll.

Her fingers click away, nails left to grow clattering against the thin glass. “Jacques Schnee.” The first several pages of results are nothing but praise for the cruel man, from companies that he owns- and it isn’t until several pages down that she could see any shred of truth. The results criticizing things about him were mostly gossip websites, but each result seems to hide a kernel of truth. Some even have links to further websites. These were the most interesting- even when she searched the name of the linked website, they didn’t show up in any search engine she could download.

These were the ones that offered the most horrifying picture of her father and his company. They talked of the murder and disappearance of those who spoke out against Schnee corp, and the horrifyingly addictive drugs they distributed. She has first hand experience with these, she had lost her mother to them while his father stood by. Her disgust at her father and his company is immeasurable- but her disgust at herself is clear. She had lived all her life in this ivory tower, a tower that she now she sees is built on a foundation of murder and oppression.

She has known something was off for the longest time, but she had done nothing. She was so obsessed with her personal failings and hardships that she ignored other people’s suffering. It takes her a while to notice the tears rolling down her face while she reads the backpage forums. Reads the accounts of people detailing their families losses and suffering at the hands of the Schnee corp. She throws her scroll to the side, and curls into a ball, still sobbing. It doesn't take long for her sobs to turn into a fitful sleep.

* * *

The fencing trainer flickers to life, and she takes her stance. Her determination is on her face, and the session begins. Thrust to the right- pivot- jump backwar- the simulated fencer pierces her chest, and a loud beep sounds. “Gaaaah! I’ve been at this for hours!” She jumps onto her bed and huffs. “I could have been training to fight my whole life but no! father insisted on a fucking sport!” She lays there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, before vaulting back up onto her feet. “Alright you digital bastard- round 23.”

She falls into a rhythm. Fight. Fail. Fight. Fail. With each failure, she grew closer to beating the trainer, and soon enough- thrust to the right- pivot- duck- lunge forward- block- block- retreat- block- sidestep- thrust- Score! Several loud beeps sound as the simulated fencer explodes in a shower of confetti. She’s always hated that feature, but doesn’t know how to turn it off.

The girl pants, and wipes the sweat from her brow, before shucking off her fencing gear, falling onto her bed once again. She’s going to do it. She was going to break out of here, and she was going to bring down this gods forsaken company. This is how she can repent. This is how she has to repent.

* * *

She has a lot of time to think, in her room. Enough time to doubt her decision, then doubt her doubt, and then doubt some more. It takes a long time for her to figure out her plan. As soon as she decided that she is going to run away, she began siphoning funds from her personal accounts to ones that Klein helped her set up. So long as she did it slowly and in low amounts, her father’s accountants would never notice- or maybe they don’t care as much as he thinks they do about his money. She can’t imagine that they’re paid enough to.

* * *

She wakes to the sound of a light rapping at her door, and sits up with great effort. “Good morning Klein.” He enters, and sets a tray of soup on her nightstand.

“Good morning snowflake! I brought you something~” He does a small jazz hand motion, and goes to take something out of his pocket.

“Klein. You can’t keep being so generous.” Her tone is harsh, but she’s been telling him to stop using his own credits to buy her gifts for almost two months now, and he keeps doing it. His hand freezes at the threshold of his pocket. “You need the money Klein, I don’t! Please- please stop spending money on me!” She’s on her feet now, and the frustration from these past few months seems to be spilling from her mouth like ichor. “I don’t know why you’re so kind to me! All I am is some asshole trillionaire's defective daughter. You don’t get paid anywhere close to enough for this! Why! Why do you spend so much time and energy on me? I- I don’t… I don’t get it Klein” She feels like she could cry at any moment, but her eyes are dry. All they see is Klein’s face, full of sympathy and understanding.

“Snowflake- you’re not just some asshole trillionaire's daughter- and you aren’t defective. Please- never tell yourself that.” Klein sits down on the side of her bed, and pats the spot next to him, smiling sympathetically. She sits, and he wraps his arm around her, pulling her close. “It’s- it’s kind of selfish of me, giving you these things. I understand that you feel like you’re taking advantage of me, I’m sorry for that. I’ll only bring you necessary things from now on, alright? I was indulging in my more... fatherly instincts- but most of all, I want you to feel better.” When Klein began to speak, it didn't take long for her to begin crying. She can’t tell if they’re angry tears, sad tears, or happy tears, but she can’t seem to stop them. Klein pulls her closer, and lets her cry, a kind smile on his face.

It doesn’t take long for her tears to dry. She’s cried a lot, in her room, so it’s no that the tears won't flow. The sobs still come, though, and it takes what feels like hours for them to stop. But stop they do. She stays pressed against Klein until her breathing finally calms, and she lets go of Klein, before pushing a strand of her unruly hair out of her face. “Do you feel better, Snowflake?” She nods, before looking him directly in the eyes.

“Klein. I need your help- one last time.” He looks worried, but nods all the same.

“Of course, whatever you need.” She takes a deep breath, steeling herself.

“I need you to break me out of here.”

* * *

The preparations are complete. She wears the most nondescript clothes in her closet. Her unruly, now long hair is tied in a low ponytail, and her rapier is strapped to her side. Her access cards for the funds she has been siphoning are hidden in her shoes along with her scroll. Her eye is healed, now- with heavy scarring. She thinks she's ready, but the time has yet to come. Klein told her that there was a party tonight, so most of the staff are going to be busy- but she is impatient, and it is only noon. She still has several hours until then.

With all the time to kill, it doesn't take long for her memory to wander. She thinks back to her childhood. The last six months have been… incredibly lonely, save for Klein. But it wasn’t very unlike how she had grown up. At least, after her mother had… become absent. The few memories of before that time are… pleasant, and a light smile comes to her face. Her mother’s smiling face, the white dress she was always wearing, and that day in the snow. The memory itself is fuzzy, but the colors and the smells are there.

Lost in her thoughts and memories, she almost doesn’t hear the knock at the door. Three raps, a beat, and another rap. She shoots up from her bed, and the door creaks open.

“Are you ready, Snowflake?” She nods, and throws her hood up.

“I’m ready, Klein. Let’s get out of here.” He scans the hallway, before beckoning her to follow. They sneak through the hallways, ducking through the rarely used shortcuts. It isn't that long before Klein ducks into a side room, far away from anywhere people of high society would venture. She follows him, and closes the door behind her.

The room stinks. Compacted trash is stacked in the corner of the room, while several pipes leak some sort of disgusting fluid along the walls. Her nose wrinkles, and Klein pushes a pile of the trash to the side with his foot. Underneath, a small trapdoor can be seen.

“It’s… not pretty, but it’ll get you to the middle city. It's used by the staff to dispose of liquid waste, so you should watch your step.” She nods, not even trying to hide her disgust.

“Tha-thank you, Klein.” He covers his nose, and opens the trapdoor. The stench hits her like a truck, and she gags. “Like I said, not pretty. But if you stick close to the edge you shouldn’t get that dirty.”

“Alright.” She walks closer to the edge of the hole, and grips Klein’s hand. Using it to steady herself, she begins the descent into the sewer. When she is able to safely grip the damp ladder rungs, she lets go of his hand, and descends the rungs. Looking up at the square of light, and Klein’s almost melancholic smile, she gives a small wave. “Thank you so much Klein- I’ll tell you where I end up. Don’t forget me!”

Klein nods, his smile more hopeful. “Of course not. Make sure to text me when you're safe!” The girl flips on her scroll’s flashlight function, and begins her trek, but is stopped by Klein’s voice.

“Wait! Before you go- have you chosen a name?” She smiles, and thinks of the snow, of her mother’s dress- she thinks of Klein’s smile, his fatherly touch, the little treats he would give her, and nods.

“Weiss. Weiss Sieben.” Klein’s face registers a shock, and he stares dumbfounded at the girl, before a tear wells in his eyes.

“Weiss. Alright- I’ll see you soon, Weiss.” He smiles down at her, and closes the trapdoor, leaving her with nothing but the scroll to see by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is set in me and loveshroom's Cyberpunk RWBY Au, which can be found at this link! --> https://cyberpunkrwby.tumblr.com/
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	3. No Matter What

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake is introduced!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Implied Abuse, Unnecessary violence, Adam, 
> 
> We added an OC (Silas) because it felt weird for Ilia to be Blake's only friend in Adam's group. Anyways Blake uses they/she pronouns depending on how they feel so don't be surprised when at some points she is used!

Blake Belladonna’s eyes open slowly, as they struggle to wake from their slumber. They slide out of bed slowly, so as not to wake the person on the other side of the bed. That would be bad, he is always angry when he’s woken up too early. Quiet-like, they slip off their camisole. After grabbing their binder from its hiding place, they take their change of clothes to the adjoining bathroom. Dressing quickly, they slide the bathroom door open once more, and tiptoe out of the room. The door makes a slight swoosh as it closes, and Blake almost forgets to pull their cybernetic tail out of the way.

Adam's group's base is located in lower Vale. The small, cramped 2 room ‘apartment’ made for a shitty base camp, but with a team less than 10, it worked. Sadly, Adam insisted on making most of them sleep in the common room. Of course, Adam wouldn’t let Blake sleep with the others, either.

Most of the others are already up. Ilia lazes on the couch, while several more people go about their business, cleaning weapons or eating breakfast. A pot of gruel is already on the portable stove, so they make a beeline for it. Taking one of the few bowls they have managed to scrounge up, they portion two scoops out of the pot. After grabbing one of the utensils, Blake heads to the couch, sitting next to Ilia. She acknowledges her with a nod, before leaning back into the couch. Blake takes a bite of the gruel, and immediately yearns for their mother’s cooking. She could do wonders with a little dehydrated protein slurry and some herbs from the hydroponics.

When they finish their breakfast, they wash the bowl, and put it up. Then, they get to work- making sure everything is prepped for today’s operation. Once they are certain that all their equipment is ready, they stand back up, and turn. Silas appears to have joined Ilia on the couch, laying across it with their head in Ilia’s lap. She seems to have drifted back to sleep, somehow, despite the sound of metal on metal resounding through the room. The crocodile faunus has their eyes closed as well, but Blake can tell that they’re awake.

Blake is about to go over to the two of them when Adam walks out of their room. He commands the room's attention immediately, as always. Several of the other members even salute, but he just smiles that charismatic smile and waves their hands down. He doesn’t even notice that the salute Silas gives him is a discrete bird.

As the room settles back into their morning activities, Adam heads for the gruel pot. He fills his bowl almost to the brim, leaving barely enough for one more person to eat. He savors it, leisurely- like he knows that his part of the preparations is probably already done.

It’s the little things about him that Blake notices now. Before, when they first started dating, and even later when they followed him, they thought his little quirks were almost endearing. Now though, they irritate them to no end. The way he smirks when he knows he’s won an argument. How he takes what he wants and acts almost guilty about it. He is still just as good at speeches, and they might almost believe them, if his actions coincided at all with their contents.

Blake doesn’t know much about the day’s op. All Adam has told any of them is that it’s a supply run, seeing as they are running low on perishables. But they have a bad feeling about it.

After watching Adam gorge himself in contempt, Blake continues their preparations. Gambol needs an oiling, so they get to it, disassembling it with speed. At this point it has become second nature, so they fall into an almost trance-like state.

Before they know it, Gambol is reassembled, and Ilia and Silas have their combat gear on. They make the trip to their own locker, and suit up. Their a.u.r.a. device is fully charged, so they don’t worry too much about that- but the binder they’re wearing might make fighting difficult, so they opt for a low weight getup. As they finish their preparations, Adam finally finishes his meal. He moves to the locker next to Blake, and dons his own gear. His weapon lies on the counter, already oiled, so he grabs that too.

He raises his sword above his head horizontally, and Silas rolls their eyes as he begins to speak.

“Alright! Today, we will take what we will not be given. The humans expect us to starve and die in this place, but we will survive- whatever we have to do. Remember. Each blow we strike against the humans is a blow for our future! A blow against this so called society. We leave our base today with naught but the gruel in our stomachs- but our conquest will be swift- it will be glorious- and we will return with arms full of delicacies to further strengthen us for the next fight!”

Now Blake rolled their eyes. He always got like this, trying to wax poetic- and failing miserably- before an op. It’s embarrassingly childish. “Now- who’s ready to kick some human ass?!” Several of the other members cheered, and Adam led them out of the door.

The op seems to be taking place in Lower Vale- even if it is one of the more affluent areas. Adam inputs the coordinates into both of their transports, and they take off. The law is lax in Lower Vale, so speeding tickets aren’t an issue. The transports easily get up to their top speed, and they arrive at their destination in under 30 minutes.

The first thing Blake notices, through the transport’s windows, is that it’s not a Corp building- or even a Corp housing unit. It’s a loose collection of poorly built houses, and what looks to be a large hydroponics system. This is the place that they are going to raid? There couldn’t be more than 30 people living here.

The transports touch down in the settlement, and a few of the people living there gather cautiously around them. The doors open with a hiss, and the small contingent of soldiers rushes out. It’s chaos, at first, with the civilians rushing in all directions, panicked. The more ruthless of Adam's group begin to incapacitate the civilians- shooting or hitting them until they either laid on the ground quietly- or dead. Blake stares in horror at the near massacre. They thought this was supposed to be a simple grab and go op- but their fellow ‘revolutionaries’ seemed to be relishing the violence.

They can’t watch this anymore- but the group does actually need food- so they join Ilia and Silas in loading the settlement’s food storage into their transports. Anyone can tell at a glance that Silas is angry. They’re grinding their teeth, and mumbling about how they never would have come if Adam had told them they were gonna be stealing from a place like this. Ilia looks sad- she used to live in a community like this, before her parents died. As it is, Blake feels like throwing up as they watch the people they had once thought fellow freedom fighters brutalize helpless humans.

The three of them seem to decide, wordlessly, that they will not take all that these people have. So they hide and sequester food, making sure that there are clues to lead the people to them. But they can’t hide it all. They load several crates of vegetables and greens into their transports, and as soon as the other members finish brutalizing the civilians, they lift into the air.

The group seems to be in good spirits- with smiles and laughs all around- save for the three of them. When Blake joined Adam’s group, this isn’t what they wanted. They wanted to fight for the liberation of faunus. They wanted to fight against the megacorps that used them for cheap labor and oppressed everyone in the city. But Adam has perverted that dream- butchered it. This is the last straw. Blake has to get out. Even if they have to leave behind Ilia and Silas- they have to get out.

* * *

Their next operation is several weeks later. This time, Adam tells his followers what their next op is going to be. They are going to hit an Atlas weapon convoy in Middle Vale. He doesn’t say where he got the info, but that doesn’t matter. What matters, is that Blake thinks it might just be the opportunity they need to get out- to trick Adam into letting them go. All they have to do is get Adam to tell them the time and coordinates, and they can engineer their escape.

It sounded hard, but Adam has no reason not to trust them. All they had to do was ask.

Under the guise of taking a walk, Blake finds their way to a net terminal, and plugs themselves in. The netspace is fast- like a flowing river, but years of experience let them navigate it with ease. It takes a while to find any trace of the rumored rebellion cell ‘Beacon’, but when they do, it’s easy to trace the lead back to someone’s secure inbox. They write up a detailed list of the time, location, weapons, and security that will be there, and send it to whoever Oz.pin@Beacon.web is. All that is left is to return to the safehouse, and make sure Adam doesn’t suspect a thing.

* * *

The plan went off without a hitch. Beacon showed up, like planned, and after a fight with Adam’s group, made off with most of the weapons. What they didn’t plan on is how angry he would get. He is yelling and cursing and kicking things, and they are the only ones around to witness- the rest of the group has scattered for a bit after the op went south, so they take the brunt of it.

“How the FUCK did they even hear about the train? I got that info from a very secure source- there’s no way human scum like Beacon beat us without some sort of help! No way!” Blake flinches as he throws another object. Barely opening their mouth, they let out a whisper. “What did you say? If that was another smart-ass comment I swear to the gods.”

“I-I can infiltrate them- to figure it out. We might have a mole, or something. I can go undercover, find their base- and then we can figure out what to do from there.” Adam’s hand lowers, and he drops the metal cup he was holding.

“Why would we infiltrate them? It would do us so much better to just wipe them off the face of Remnant. Even if we did- why would you? You always find a way to fuck everything up- you and that incompetent croc- at least Ilia follows orders!” Blake flinches again, but steels themselves, creeping closer to Adam. They place a hand on his arm, and stroke it in a soothing manner

Their voice comes out soft- but inside they’re screaming. “Adam- please calm down. You know that Beacon has too many specialists to take down by ourselves. If I got into their systems, we could take them down from inside and then they won’t be an issue.” Blake can see the war between his pride and his reason raging on his face, and hopes beyond all hope that reason will win. “It has to be me- I’m the only one here with enough experience with the systems and such that groups like that use. My ears are easy to hide as well.”

The silence is pregnant- but after a few moments, his reason seems to win out. “Alright- but you need to start preparing immediately. And I will expect you to keep in contact, even at the risk of being caught. It is an information gathering operation, after all.” He looks smug, like the idea had been his all along- but Blake has played him like a fiddle, and they have to suppress a smile.

They nod. “Of course Adam.” Turning, they let a wide smile grace their face, before beginning to pack what they need into a small rucksack they kept in their locker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is set in me and loveshroom's Cyberpunk RWBY Au, which can be found at this link! --> https://cyberpunkrwby.tumblr.com/
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	4. Welcome to Beacon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beacon is introduced on a surface level.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting somewhere sort of! Finally a little bit of fluff, but we couldn't pass up angst lmao. Anyways, I decided to switch to just regular dialogue for Neo as opposed to the blocking text I did in Warm Up because it feels more natural and ynow, sl is a language just like any other. She's there for a reason I promise (It's because we like her so we made her backstory allow her to be here).

Ruby tends to stay up late, so it doesn’t surprise Penny to find her still asleep at her workbench so close to noon. She places a gentle hand on Ruby’s shoulder, shakes her gently, and sets a cup of coffee next to her on the bench. She leans down, and places a kiss on Ruby’s head. “Good morning Ruby. How did you sleep?” All Ruby responds with is a grumble as she pushes herself off the desk, stretching her arms. She lifts the coffee to her lips, and takes a large sip, before spitting it back into the cup when it singes her tongue. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Ruby-”

Ruby holds a hand up to Penny, before taking a breath. “It’s fine Penny. It just surprised me.” She blows on it for a moment, before setting it down for a moment, and getting out of the chair. Penny laughs as she hears Ruby’s joints creak and pop, and Ruby looks at her funny, before picking her cup back up. “What time is it?”

Penny beams at her. “It’s almost time for lunch. We should head to the mess hall, Yang was worried when she saw you’d fallen asleep at your workbench again.” Her smile fails for a moment, before coming back to her face, less intense. 

Ruby is too tired to recognize the worry that Penny briefly displayed, so she simply nods, and gestures towards the door. “Lead the way, Firefly.” and with that, they exit the workshop, with Ruby giving one last glance towards Crescent Rose, oiled and cleaned on the workbench.

They walk in silence for a moment, before Penny turns her head towards her. “Ruby, we need to have a discussion about your sleep- and all the work you’ve been doing.” Ruby stops in her tracks.

“I’m not overworking myself Penny, don’t worry about me.”

“Yes you are Ruby! You stay up late every night, you obsess over any operation plan, checking every single possibility and- and you barely have any time for me…” Penny yells at her, and a heavy silence falls over the two. A moment passes, and Penny shuffles from side to side, before gripping her right elbow with her left hand anxiously. “I’m- I’m sorry for yelling.”

Ruby sighs, and rubs the bags under her eyes. “It’s- it’s alright Penny but- I can’t just not- I need to do those things, so people don’t-” She can’t seem to say the last word, and her breath comes quick and shallow. “I need- I need to…” Penny places a soft hand on her shoulder, and Ruby’s breathing returns to normal soon after, and yet her mind races several moments more. Was she taking this too far? Did she need to rest? Could she ask others for help? She knows the answer to these questions is yes, but relying on others to help her instead of having her help them has never been her strong suit. 

“Ruby- are you okay?” Penny looks worried, and slides her hand into Ruby’s. 

“Yeah- I’m okay Penny. Maybe… maybe you’re right. I could use a rest. I’ll make sure to get to bed early tonight… and maybe we can, ynow, have a night in.” She smiles, a wistful and quick thing, and Penny nods.

“That would be lovely, Ruby. Now- let’s get some food in you!” Penny pulls her along, still gripping her hand, and Ruby gladly follows.

* * *

The mess hall is alive with conversation and laughter. Team Juniper and Neo are already sitting in their usual spot, and Ruby can see Yang loading her plate up with some of the more flavorful food slurries by the wall. Penny and Ruby make a beeline for the food line, and Ruby loads her plate up with a small amount of greens and a grit-like slurry. Penny opts for a small amount of greens and a bar, as she doesn’t really need to eat, but likes the taste and texture. 

When they turn back to Juniper’s table, Yang has already sat down, while Neo and Nora seem to be engaged in some strange competition involving catapulting food into each other's mouths with their spoons. Ruby shakes her head as she walks by, and almost gets pelted by Neo’s food spoonapult. “Sorry!” she quickly signs, before returning to her competition. 

Ren and Pyrrha are talking about the various advantages of different workout routines as they sit next to Jaune. Ruby begins to eat tentatively while watching her friends and listening, and soon Yang sits down across from them. 

“Of course you should work out your legs and core before your arms! They hold you up, and you need them to run around the battlefield!” Ren argues.

“But if you work out your arms and upper body strength first you can have faster gains in your core because you’ll have more mass in your upper body!” Ruby never understood these types of conversations, but Ren and Pyrrha seem to have them every other month. Maybe it’s some strange sort of flirting. 

Yang finishes her food soon after the two of them fall into a comfortable silence, agreeing to work out together later, and turns to Ren. 

“Ren. How is the preparation for that stealth mission coming?” Neo leans halfway across the table, and begins to sign in response.

“It’s going great! We have everything put together, and the rookie seems to be prepared as well!” She gives a great big smile, and Yang sighs.

“Neo, thank you for answering, but I asked Ren.” She looks slightly embarrassed, and nods, going back to her food. “Is that true Ren?”

He nods. “It is, the rookie seems to be prepared, and we can head out at a moment's notice.” 

“Wonderful! By the way- is there any chance I could get in on that workout session? I’ve been neglecting these baby’s,” she flexes, and blows a kiss towards each of her biceps, “so it’d really help.” Yep. That’s Yang, unknowingly attempting to barge in on a chill date. Ruby groans exasperatedly. 

“Yaaaaaaaaannnnnnngggg”

“What?”

“Ren. asking just Pyrrha. To go to the gym with him!” Penny interjected, bringing a sudden liveliness to the conversation.

“What does that have to do with… oh. Never mind Ren, I can go by myself.” Ren gives a strained smile.

“Thank you, Yang.” 

“Of cour-” Yang is interrupted by a loud, blue haired twink slamming down onto the seat next to Ruby. 

“Rubyyyyy what’s poppin red? Me and Sun got a batch of new recruits, and we need someone to ease them into the routine a bit. You up?”

Ruby stared blankly at Neptune. “Neptune. If you ever greet me that way again. I  _ will _ kick you out of Beacon.”

Neptune pretends to be hurt. “I’m wounded! How ever would I survive? You could ever follow through- considering you’ve made that threat a dozen times. You’re way too sweet to ever allow little ol’ me to starve on the streets.” 

Ruby sighs. “Fine, fine.” She looks to Penny, who nods with a smile. “I’ll come with you, let's go meet these recruits.” 

“Wait- Neptune, I can go. I’m free, and Ruby already has a lot on her plate.” Yang stood, picking up her plate.

“Yang. Let me do this- I don’t have anything planned for today anyways. Until later, at least.” She smiles a little smile, and makes to leave with Neptune. Yang sits back down with a sigh, and Ren places a hand on her shoulder. 

“Yang. You don’t need to worry about Ruby that much. She’s going to be taking it easier for a bit.” Penny smiles at her, and Yang feels as though one of the many weights on her shoulders is lifted. 

“Thank you, Penny.”

* * *

Ruby likes to act like Neptune gets on her nerves, but in reality, he’s actually quite pleasant to talk to. He doesn’t hide things. If he wants to say something, he'll say it. Very few people manage to make her feel as steady as Neptune can by just babbling about what he’s been up to the past few days, because he doesn’t conceal. You can trust him, and he is so self absorbed that he doesn’t have any reason to worry about her. It’s refreshing.

Right now, Neptune is babbling about how hard it was to round up this batch. Somehow Sun had recruited members from all three layers of the city, and because he isn’t welcome in Upper Vale, asked Neptune to help out. He is just beginning to talk about the apparently ‘baller’ meal he had at a street cart in the upper city when they arrive in what Sun dubs his ‘reception room.’ It exits to one of the many concealed entrances, is furnished with beanbag chairs and sometimes even hosts refreshments, when he’s feeling fancy. Five new people sit in various places around the room, and each of them looks up when they hear the heavy door slide open.

“Neptune! Ruby! Welcome, welcome!” Sun’s prosthetic leg peeks out from under his long coat, while his open shirt displays the muscles and scars he is so very proud of. “Meet the new crew!” He points at each of them in turn. “This is Sketch, Lisa, Nine, Derek, and Tye. Crew, meet Ruby. She’s one of the peeps in charge around this place.” The one who Ruby thinks is Sketch raises their hand. “Yes?”

“Isn’t she… a little young to be leading a rebellion?” Ruby couldn't help but let out a snicker.

“Well- yes, but her parents founded it- and she isn’t the only leader! There’s Yang, and four other people who do a lot of the running. Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Jaune…” Tye raises her hand. “Yes?” Sun seems kind of peeved at this point.

“Pyrrha? Pyrrha NIKOS?! Like from Mistral City propaganda posters Pyrrha?”

Ruby interjects. “Is that going to be an issue?”

“No- It’s just cool! She’s like a celebrity!”

Ruby sighs. “It’s cool if you fangirl in private, but please don’t do it around her, it makes her uncomfortable. Any other questions before we begin?”

The five of them look at each other in silence, before turning back to Ruby. “Good. Now, let’s discuss what you’re risking. First, the obvious. If you intend to legitimately fight the corps, you are risking death. Even if you intend to stay in a supporting role, the place you are in may end up being attacked by the corps and you could die. Is that a risk all of you are willing to take?” Each of them nods in turn. “Alright. Second, if any of you are publicly exposed as a member of Beacon, your family members will be targeted. Is striking back at the corps worth that?” Each of them nods again. “Alright. Those are the risks, but I’m warning you. Whatever you think about us, this isn’t a glamorous thing. It’s dirty, it’s bloody, and it’s tragic. Any further questions?”

Derek raises his hand. “You- you said if we wanted to fight- that means we can help without fighting, right?”

It’s Ruby’s turn to nod now. “Everyone is welcome at Beacon, so long as you are determined to fight for the people. Whether that fight is direct or indirect is up to you.”

Nine speaks for the first time. Their voice is serious, with an almost danger to it. “If your entrance process is so simple, how do you prevent spies from infiltrating you?”

“Well, that’s simple Nine. Sun here is the most talented information specialist in this entire damn city! He wouldn’t have contacted you if you had even an inkling of connection with a corp or one of their gangs.” Nine nods, apparently satisfied. “Now, who wants a tour?” Ruby stands, and the five follow. She returns to the door, and slides it open once again, before turning to the five.

“Welcome to Beacon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is set in me and loveshroom's Cyberpunk RWBY Au, which can be found at this link! --> https://cyberpunkrwby.tumblr.com/
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	5. Chains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: [Panic attack, Injury]
> 
> Yang feels the weight of responsibility

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me a long time to write this haha. Sorry that I never got around to that drabble i talked about in the last update, it was harder than i thought to write au complacent fluff.

  
  


Yang watches Ruby as she follows Neptune out of the cafeteria, disposing of her plate as soon as they leave. She lied to Ruby. She isn’t free- but Ruby didn’t need to know that. Yang would deal with a few sleepless nights if it would mean Ruby might relax a bit. Hell, she already isn’t getting that much sleep, so it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Right now though, Yang doesn’t have time to stop and worry anymore. She checks her scroll, and notes that Oobleck needs her in storage. The quartermaster is always worrying about one thing or another, but with good reason. It’s a ten minute walk to the storehouse, so she has to be quick, because she has another meeting in an hour. Running out the cafeteria, she sprints through the hallways, barely able to mutter out apologies to those she bumps into.

She slides through the door of the warehouse, and looks around. Quickly locating the mess of green hair, and calls out. “Oobleck, what’s the issue?”

“Ah, Yang! Prompt as always! It is quite simple. Our surgical supplies and sterilizing agents are running low! I need you to send some of our best agents out to retrieve some alcohol and printing materials!” It takes a moment for Yang to process his fast speech, but when she does, she lets out a small whine.

“Oobleck, you could have just texted me that!” She pulled out her scroll, checking the time.

“But then I would not be able to show you the other issue! Come. Follow me if you will.” Oobleck turns, and sprints down one of the aisles of the warehouse. Yang follows at a similar pace, shaking her head. He slides to a stop in front of a pallet labeled nonperishables, and turns to her.

“It doesn’t look like anything is wrong with it. Why do you-” Without a word, Oobleck spins the pallet around, revealing that the seemingly pristine boxes hid a large slice in the back, and an empty space. “Oh.”

“Yes! ‘Oh’ indeed! It would seem someone has been stocking up without our permission! I would like you to investigate!” Yang brought up her scroll again, and typed another entry into her ever growing to-do list.

“Will do Oobleck, but right now I have to get to a meeting.” He nods so fast she almost misses it, and she throws him a thumbs up before sprinting for the door. If she makes the meeting fast enough, she just might have some downtime today!

* * *

Yang sighs, changing quickly out of her work clothes into something more comfortable, before sliding into her bed. At this point, getting into bed is the most relaxing activity of her whole day, so she relishes it- stretching and just reveling in the comfort. She closes her eyes, and slowly, ever so slowly… drifts… to… slee- a noise blares from her scroll, jostling her out of sleep. Something is wrong.

She jumps out of her bed. This isn’t the time to be sleeping. She was needed. There was no time to get dressed, so she runs out the door in her pajamas, sliding into the wall with a thump, before rushing toward the med bay. Almost no one is in the hallways at this time of night, so she makes good progress, barely making the turns at speed and in her socks. She makes it to the doors of the med bay just as Jaune and Pyrrha round the corner, supporting an injured Ren on their shoulders. Neo follows soon after, helping the less injured rookie along. “Pyrrha! What happened?”

Yang opens the door to the bay, letting them through. “Don’t know yet. Ren’s barely conscious.”

Shit. Yang can already feel the familiar guilt welling up in her chest, but she pushes it down. Grabbing Ren's legs, she helps the two hoist Ren into one of the empty beds, and calls one of the medics over. They immediately begin treatment, removing and cutting his clothes off of him. His wounds are deep, and lightly cauterized, indicative of some railgun munitions. They didn’t look fatal to Yang, but she isn’t a doctor. Seeing the extent of his wounds, the guilt she feels wraps around her chest, constricting it. The newbie, Vai, seems to have been grazed several times, but is overall in good condition. As soon as Neo has deposited them into a bed, Yang rushes to her side.

“Neo! What happened- I thought you said this was going to be a cut and dry op?!” Neo shook her head, and let out a raspy sigh. Both of them are distracted for a moment as Nora bursts into the room, interrupting everyone, and rushes to Ren’s bedside, worry etched into her face.

Turning back to Yang, Neo signs quickly, doing her best to tell Yang what happened. “Everything was going fine! The guards didn’t see us, we easily disabled the security androids- and we made it to the storehouse- but then- we were carrying what we needed back to the transport... The newbie stumbled and dropped a few things! We… I… I neglected to incapacitate the guards. It was foolish of me, but I thought we could get in and out with no one the wiser. I was wrong, and the guards looked up when they saw a few packets falling from the rafters. It… it didn’t take long for them to open fire, but Ren managed to push Vai out of the way before they took too much damage. We barely made it out.”

Yang’s chest tightens, the chains of guilt pressing in on her until she can barely breath. “I- I shouldn’t have sent Vai on a stealth mission- I shouldn’t have sent Vai on any mission!” Yang barely registers Neo signing something, but she doesn’t catch it. Her breathing quickens, the chains around her chest tighten, while the pained breathing of Ren and Vai fade into the background. Her ears begin to buzz with static.

This is her fault. It’s all her fault. If she wasn’t so desperate to reup their food supplies so soon then they would be fine! Hell, she could have sent one of the more experienced infiltrators, but the others just got back from a different mission- Maybe Yang should have gone herself- Yes. This is on her. She needs to take more responsibility. Dad, Qrow and Ozpin had entrusted her with Beacon for a reason. Everyone looked to her to keep them safe and alive. They were all her responsibility. She needs to take it more seriously. More responsibility. More work. More. More.

A hand rests on her shoulder, breaking through the fugue of her mind. Pyrrha looks concerned. “Are- are you alright Yang?” Yang lets out a small sniffle, and wipes her face with the back of her arm. Why is her face wet?

“I’m fine, Pyrrha. Are you?” Pyrrha's face hardens, and she glances towards the anesthetized Ren.

“Yeah, but you don’t look so good… I’m going to go get Ruby, alright?” Pyrrha starts to walk towards the door, but Yang reaches out and grabs her wrist. “No, don’t wake her- I’m- I’m fine. She doesn’t need any more stress.” Pyrrha gives her a sympathetic look, and stops in place.

“Alright. But Yang, but you don’t need any more stress either… Everyone can see that you’ve been pushing yourself…” Yang shakes her head.

“I'm just taking care of my responsibilities Pyrrha. Everything is my responsibility and… my fault. I shouldn’t have sent a rookie on a mission like that.” Yang looks away from her, pulling her arm to her side, before almost being knocked over by Neo wrapping her short arms around her torso. Pyrrha joins the hug soon after.

“It’s not your fault Yang. Things happen. Look at me.” Pyrrha lets Yang go, and grabs her face with both hands. “This. Is not. Your fault. Say it with me.” Yang is silent for a moment, but knows the two of them won’t let her leave without saying it.

She sighs, breaths in, and then out. “This isn’t my fault. This isn’t my fault. This isn’t my fault.” The mantra calms her slightly, and Neo lets go of her waist. Yang’s hand creeps down to her waist, where her scroll should be, but finds empty air. Neo lets out a mischievous smile, and flashes her empty hands. “Neo. give it back!”

She shakes her head, signing with a mischievous smile. “Nope! You need to rest. Me and Pyrrha can handle the day to day for at least the weekend, alright?” Pyrrha nods, and lays her hand on Yang’s arm.

“Let us do this for you Yang, okay? You need to rest. Ren is going to be alright without you, and so is Beacon, at least for two days.” Yang lets out a little groan, stretching her face with the palm of her hands.

“Fine, fine! I’ll take a stupid break. Just don’t mess anything up, alright Neo?” The short girl smiles a big grin, and nods her head vigorously. Yang spares a look over at the sleeping Ren, and walks past Pyrrha. “Keep Neo in check, alright Pyrrha?” She doesn’t look back as she leaves the room, but she trusts Pyrrha to do what she needs to.

Yang flops into her bed, reveling in the softness once more. Sleep creeps in almost immediately, but she falls into it with a smile. What did she do to deserve people like her friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is set in me and loveshroom's Cyberpunk RWBY Au, which can be found at this link! --> https://cyberpunkrwby.tumblr.com/
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	6. Chop and Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss makes her first foray into Middle Vale, and appreciates some new sights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: Surgery prep, Anesthetics, Drinking(minor), smoking, misgendering, dysphoria, classism
> 
> Hi! It's nice to see you again. I am so sorry for the 2 month delay, first I had final projects, then I had finals, then I fell into a depressive fugue for a few weeks, and then it was hard to write while quarantining (which I still am doing). Anyways, this chapter was not meant to be solely what it is, but it didn't turn out that way. The story decided that by itself, so blame the narrative :P

The sound of rusted iron on iron grates through the damp air, followed by a grunt as a figure pulls herself out of the sewer. The street is dirty, filled with discarded trash and a few broken street lamps. In the distance Weiss can hear the bustle of a transport artery and what she thinks is people, but her first priority is finding somewhere to sleep. Pulling out her scroll, she checks her map function. Klein was right, the sewer had led her straight down into Middle Vale. Now that she has a rudimentary signal, she should be able to find some sort of place to rent a room from.

She’s heard horror stories of people from the upper city visiting the middle or even- gods forbid- the lower city, so she makes sure her hood is up and her head down as she sped through the alleyways, dodging the gaze of many that her father would deem ‘vagrants’ or ‘mongrels.’ She catches herself thinking that it may have been one of his few accurate judgements. She shakes her head, attempting to rid herself of the thought. “No Weiss. If they’re vagrants, so are you! Covered in filth, sneaking through the streets like some sort of common thief.” Even so, her assurances do little to stop her from letting out a shriek when a beggar on one of the smaller streets reaches towards her, holding a small collection tray.

She is certain this person means her harm- why else would they reach toward her? Stumbling away from them, she trips, falling into a dirty puddle. It almost makes her laugh. Not only is she homeless, but now her clothes are dirty AND soaked. Weiss stands, and spares a single glance back at the person, sneering when she sees their face. Is that- is that pity? No, why would she be pitied! She is Weiss Siebling! No one pities her! She pities others! Snubbing them with a turn, she continues on her way, trying to shake the water from her scroll.

The hotel her scroll gives her is less dingy than she would have thought. Stepping into the lobby, she notes the clean floors and bored teenager at the desk. The girl takes several seconds to look up from her scroll when Weiss reaches her desk, and with practiced monotone, she recites a welcome speech. “Hello. Welcome to the Speckled Mare. Finest hotel in Middle Vale. No we don’t know what a mare is. Don’t ask. What can I help you with?”

“Uh, yes… I’d like to rent a room? Possibly for several days.”

“Alright. Would you like a deluxe room or a regular.” Weiss puts a hand on her chin, before quickly dropping it to her side as she feels the sparse stubble. If she is going to be living down here, perhaps she should attempt to forgo luxuries.

“Regular, please.”

“Alright, that’ll be 700 credits per night.” She hands the girl her cred card, and immediately gets an alert on her scroll that the credits have been paid. “Wonderful.” The girl hands Weiss her stick back, along with a card. “That’ll get you into your room. Have a nice night sir.” Weiss winces, but takes it regardless, leaving without another word.

The room is smaller than her old one, but not empty. Apart from the bed, there is also a tv and several other amenities. It feels more like a home than any place she has slept before.

Shrugging off her cloak, she quickly disrobes, before throwing her disgusting clothes into the provided washer. After a long, hot shower, and laying on the bed naked for several minutes, the washer lets out a loud ding, startling her. With her clothes finally dry, she can sleep at last.

* * *

Weiss wakes up with a growl, pushing herself out of the bed with all her willpower. She gets dressed, before glancing at her cloak, trying to decide whether to throw away her cloak. It was too dirty to put in with her other clothes, but it could still be useful, so she throws it into the washer, and walks out the door, making sure it locks behind her. The girl from last night is nowhere to be seen, replaced by a Faunus man. He gives a nod to Weiss, who pulls herself closer to her body. Trying her best to ignore the other patrons, she grabs a nutrient bar from the provided breakfast, and rushes out the door.

She had heard of the artificial suns of Middle Vale, but this is the first time she has seen one of them. It sits in the middle of a structural tower, and hurts to stare at. The shadows it casts are a bit strange, but the effect is nonetheless accomplished. Blinking her eyes to shake off the light spots, she turns her gaze towards her scroll. First things first, she needs to do something for herself. Opening up the search engine, she looks up any reference to body modding in Middle Vale. Most of the establishments and names that pop up are either too connected to the corps or too shady for her taste, and there’s a lot of gossip and hubbub that isn’t relevant at all, but one of the few places mentioned on various forums and websites that seems both promising and safe is within taxi distance of her hotel.

Weiss walks until she sees one of the ‘taxi hubs’ she’s heard so much derision about. “Small transports- smell terrible- absolutely peasant!” She is almost sure they can’t be as bad as her father said. She stands at the taxi hub for a while- which for it’s name, is remarkably empty of taxis. Despite the artificial sun, it’s dark enough to scare her, just a little bit, so her mind invents possibilities of thieves and thugs hiding just around the corner, waiting for the perfect opportunity to wound and steal from her. She’s almost shivering from the fear of the imagined assailants when a taxi pulls up to the hub and snaps her out of it. 

The transport is small, like she has heard. The dingy yellow paint seems to have chipped over years of small collisions, but the maglifts appear to be functional, so Weiss doesn’t think she has to worry about falling out of the sky. It’s door swings open, and after taking one last look around, she climbs inside.

Her father wasn’t right about the smell, although it is a bit dirty. It smells nice, a bit minty. It’s tinged with a sickly smell though. Probably from whatever the driver is smoking. He lets out a little cough. “Where ya headed?”

Weiss waves her hand in front of her face, blowing the smoke away. “Do you know where the Electric Sheep is?” She swears she can see the driver smile a bit.

“Aye lad- that I do.” He brings his left hand up to where she can see it, showing off a mechanical hand, twisted into a thumbs up. A silence falls over the taxi, before the driver places both his hands on the wheel, and off they go. The windows of the taxi are tinted, but she can see through them if she squints- and she does. The towering buildings the taxi takes her around and the smaller buildings it takes her above are something she would never have thought she’d think beautiful- but they are. More than the towering, immaculate buildings of the upper city- they seem alive in a way, more human than anything in that glimmering hell. It doesn’t look clean, or safe- but there is something here. Something that makes her feel more hopeful than any window in that mansion ever did.

Soon enough, the taxi sets down in front of the bar. Weiss pays the man, giving him a small smile, and the taxi takes off. She stands there in the cold for a few moments, staring at the neon lights covering the outside of the Electric Sheep, before she takes a step forward, and pushes her way out of the cold.

It’s barely noon, so the bar isn’t too busy, but more so than one would expect. Most of the patrons sat at tables near the edge of the bar while talking and laughing to themselves. The air smells of alcohol, but surprisingly nothing else. When Weiss notices the bartender, she has to do a double take. Their face is almost entirely cybernetics, and the parts of their limbs visible through their clothes appear to be at the very least enhanced. She has never seen any sort of modification so extreme.

She jumps a bit as they look up at her, and nod. She nods back in acknowledgement, and creeps towards the bar, sitting down very, very carefully. It takes a moment for the bartender to approach her, and she shifts uncomfortably on the barstool as she waits.

Their voice is obviously synthetic, the telltale crackle of an older speaker system present in it’s background. “What can I get for you…” Weiss can almost feel their eyes peeling her apart as they take her in. “... Ma’am.” She blinks for a moment, stunned. For a moment she almost thinks she might cry.

“Could- could I just get a glass of uhh… hard lemonade?” They nod, and leave her for a moment. She looks around the bar again, and for the first time realizes how different the people are here. Their clothes aren’t just for looks. Some of them seem to have functions, and some are wildly garish. She also notes with surprise that some of them very clearly don’t conform to any set of standards regarding gender she’d been taught to expect, but the clink of glass on the metal of the bar snaps out of her light daze.

“Th- thank you.” She takes it, and sips on the drink while avoiding the barkeeps gaze. They sit like that for a few moments, a heavy silence between them.

“You’re here for something, aren’t you?” The glass almost slips from her grasp, and she freezes for a moment, before nodding.

Her voice is quiet, strained, but that doesn’t matter to someone who’s upgraded their hearing. “I… I need to- I’m looking for someone to… I need a body modder, okay? I assumed someone here could point me in the right direction.” 

“Whatcha need a body mod for? Your body looks perfectly functional, ‘sides from your eye.” Weiss shifts in her chair clearly uncomfortable.

“Why- why does it matter?” one of their eyebrows raises with an audible whir.

“Because the body mods people come looking around here for tend to be… less than legal, and we can’t have just anyone coming and turning in our sources.”

Weiss’ mouth opens, then closes, then opens, like a fish, but words won’t come. She takes one more sip, and steels herself. “I think you- you already guessed it. Like you said I’m- I’m a woman, and moreover… I’m on the run and I thought- I thought it was the perfect time to finally look someone up.

The bartender nods, looking her up and down once more, this time much more invasively. “Alright. I can put you in touch with someone.” Weiss’ face lights up.

“Really?” They give a slight nod, and pull out their scroll. She quickly takes her own out, and the anticipation is clear on her face. They pull something up, and bump their scroll with Weiss’, sharing the info.

“Go to that location, knock twice and say the phrase ‘what do androids dream of.’ Oh, and tell Zenith that xe still owes Phay for that jailbreak” Weiss nods, an idiotic grin plastered on her face.

“Of course, of course! Thank you so much. I won’t forget this.”

“S’no trouble, don’t worry about it.” Weiss shakes her head.

“No, this is everything. Again, thank you.” Weiss plugs her card into the tip jar, and drops 500 credits in. She hopes that’s enough for a tip, she’s never done it before. With one last thank you, she pushes herself out of the chair, but is stopped by the bartender's voice before she can walk back out into the city.

"Do you think you could pay for the tea?" The amusement is evident in their voice, and Weiss freezes, her face turning beet red.

"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry, here!" She practically throws the stick at the cyborg, but they catch it with ease. After processing the transaction, they throw it back, and Weiss is off.

* * *

Weiss is ecstatic. She thought finding someone willing to direct her to anybody who could help would take at least a week. Perhaps the people down here are better than she thought. The bartender didn’t even ask for anything in return, other than the drink. It’s a far cry from anything up there, where everything was a transaction, save for her interactions with Klein.

Lost in thought, she drifts towards the middle of the alleyway, and is almost hit by a girl on a yellow hoverbike. She barely avoids it in time, even with the driver swerving to avoid her, the propulsion splashing a puddle of water up at her. “Watch where you’re going idiot!” Maybe kind people are a rarity down here too. She tries to brush herself off, but only succeeds in making her hands wet. Today was going so well until now.

Channeling her new frustration into kicking at the stray pieces of trash on the street she trudges back towards the taxi hub. This time, though, there are people waiting at the stop as well. They seem to be preoccupied with their own scrolls, but Weiss attempts to make herself as small as she can, regardless of their inattentiveness. She waits for what seems like forever, but notices several of the other people waiting for the taxi whispering to each other and glancing towards her, so she tries to distract herself with her scroll, only to come face to face with a full page alert.

The face that stares up at her from the screen is one she has come to despise over her life. It’s her, or the ‘her’ that her father saw. He’d put a goddamn bounty on her head, claiming she had been kidnapped! She glances around at the other people again, and even more of them are glancing her way. She really should have brought her cloak, anyone could see her face and hair. So she runs, down the street, into some alleys and out of them, keeping her head down. Some of those at the taxi hub even tried to chase after her, but they soon gave up.

Dread wells up in her as Weiss realizes she can’t go back to the hotel. It would be too easy to follow her or for one of the people there to tip off a Schnee ‘Peace Officer.’ She has to go straight to the body modder, else she risks recognition and capture before she even has a non-ceremonial weapon to protect herself with.

Pausing at an alley intersection, she takes a moment to swipe aside the alert, and pulls up the directions to the body modder. It’s far, and she’ll have to go on foot, but if she doesn’t then she’ll surely be recognized within the week. She can’t take that risk.

* * *

Traversing the city solely through the alleyways is slow going, especially if you keep going up and down to ensure it’s harder to follow you. Weiss knows she’s being paranoid, glancing over her shoulder more times than she can count, but she doesn’t care. Everything she and Klein worked for and everything Klein… sacrificed… it would all come crashing down if she was captured. So she keeps her head down, and keeps her distance from others in the alleys. The day passes slow for her, and by the time night falls the stress is getting to her. Every little rustle of trash in the wind is someone trying to follow her, and every dark shadow is someone waiting to jump her.

Even at the speed her urgency and anxiety grant her, it is well into the night when she spots the flickering neon sign that indicates she’s in the right place. Knocking twice on the metal door, she waits a moment, before a slot on the door slides open expectantly. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Weiss repeats the phrase “What do androids dream of?,” and the slot slides shut. She taps her foot lightly, before she hears a click, and the door slides upwards, revealing… an empty hallway. She curses, takes one last quick look at the alleyway around her, ensuring it’s empty, and steps inside. The door closes behind her, and the dim lights along the hallway shut off dramatically as she passes.

The hallway opens into an operating theater, dim, and kinda grody. A figure hunches over a table in the middle of the room, their hands occupied with something on it. Weiss stops at the threshold, and the figures movements pause. Xe holds up a hand, and snaps it, causing an strong backlight to fill the room, obscuring the figure from Weiss’ vision. Xe turns, all four- wait- four? Of xer arms outstretched, casting an intimidating shadow. “Welcome to Zenith’s body chop and shop! Whatever changes you need, whatever removals or additions, you, my dear customer, have come to the right place!” Weiss removes the hand from in front of her eyes as the light becomes more bearable, and is greeted with the sight of someone who can only be described as going hard for the mad scientist aesthetic. Xe is wearing a lab coat, gloves, and even goggles. Not to mention the fact that xe appears to have attached cybernetic arms just below xer own.

“Uh… Yes, I do need your… services. And uh- Phay? Told me that… lets see if I can remember… ‘xe still owes me for that jailbreak’” One of xer lower hand snaps, and xe scowls playfully.

“Damn, I thought they’d forgotten about that. I suppose you’re one of their lost ‘kids’ then?” Weiss tilts her head, confused. “I mean you’ll be wanting the hrt package, yes?” Weiss’ face betrays her surprise, and she finds it hard to get the words out for a moment, so she just nods vigorously. “Great, I’ll go and get the paperwork. I might run an under the radar business but I’ll be damned if keeping records hasn’t made shit easier for me.” Xe continues mumbling to xemself as xe rummages through what appears to be an actual, honest to gods filing cabinet full of paper.

Weiss fidgets a little bit, but her curiosity eventually gets the best of her. “Why not just use digital records?”

Xe doesn’t even look up. “More secure. Any old hacker could get into any system I’d be able to afford. To access paper though, you need to find where I work, break in, get past my security on a self contained system, and then search through all the paper.” Weiss nods, and takes a look around the room, noting that there were in fact several old turrets.

Zenith slams the locker closed, startling Weiss, and places the pen and paper down on the operating table. “Just look through this and mark all the procedures you want. Price is non-negotiable, but if you don’t have enough I could always use a helper for a few months. Weiss nods, knowing she almost certainly has enough to cover what she needs. The prices however, still knock her off her feet. It would cost her almost 3 quarters of her credits for the full suite. Facial feminization surgery is something she needs to make her less recognizable, so she marks it, along with the procedure to convert her body to produce estrogen instead and vocal surgery. All of the rest are either cosmetic or something she can do without, while those would actively obscure her relation to the persona that is being looked for, so she opts out of those. Despite the reduced procedure count, the cost still totals half of her savings.

Weiss signs the rest of the forms, writing down her medical information, and pushes the paper back towards the modder. Xe looks over the papers, and beckons Weiss towards the table. “I’ll just go grab a bit of anesthetic. Take off your clothes and lie on the table. I’ll be just a moment.” She nods, apprehensive, and hesitates. Zenith takes the pause to step into a side room, which appears to be full of various fluids in sealed beakers and jars. She didn’t think this through. Of course she would have to be naked, of course someone would have to see her body. How else would xe make it better? She has just begun to strip as Zenith calls out from inside the room. “There’s a hospital gown under the table. You can put that on if you’re uncomfortable.” Sighing in relief, Weiss snatches the gown, and covers herself with it. She hops onto the table, the metal making her shiver, while doing her best to show her determination as Zenith returns, wheeling an IV drip. “I’m going to push the needle in, alright?” Weiss nods, gritting her teeth, and Zenith plunges the needle in with a quick jab. It takes a moment, but Weiss feels herself become blurry, fading slowly into the background of unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is set in me and loveshroom's Cyberpunk RWBY Au, which can be found at this link! --> https://cyberpunkrwby.tumblr.com/
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


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